The Classic Cocktail That Pairs Perfectly With McDonald's Fries

Consumers agree that McDonald's fries are the tops among fast-food chains. McDonald's spuds get their superior taste from beef flavoring, and with a food this iconic, you must have an equally impressive beverage to wash it down. While classic soda pairings work just fine (the restaurant offers Coke products, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, and plenty of others), we have an offbeat beverage to recommend. The next time you're craving McDonald's fries, consider pairing them with a decadent mudslide cocktail. Consisting of vodka, Kahlúa (or another coffee liqueur), Baileys Irish Cream, chocolate syrup, and heavy cream, a mudslide beautifully replicates the flavor of a chocolate milkshake, but with a boozy bonus. 

I can practically hear you thinking, "You want me to eat McDonald's French fries with what?", but I assure you there is a method to this madness. Think back to childhood meals that were occasionally served alongside a milkshake, perhaps to celebrate a championship little league game or to get on your good side before the delivery of bad news. Back then, the combining of salty and sweet made perfect sense to one's palate, and some even went the extra mile by dipping their fries into their milkshakes. We aren't necessarily recommending that you do that, but you might be surprised by how well these flavors work together. 

It turns out there is scientific backing behind our McDonald's fries and mudslide pairing. French fries taste better with chocolate milkshakes because the combo of salty and sweet play on certain tongue receptors to boost the shake's flavor. The pairing of hot and cold foods has a similar effect, as it triggers pleasurable signals in the brain. While you can easily achieve these effects with a classic mudslide cocktail, there are also some variations to explore when pairing with a salty batch of fries from the Golden Arches. 

A frozen mudslide adds ice cream into the recipe, as opposed to shaking the cocktail with ice and serving it in a chilled glass. This variation brings you closer to a true milkshake, but you can turn up the chocolatey goodness by using chocolate-flavored vodka, which is sure to blow your taste buds away when paired with McDonald's fries. Liqueurs also come in a variety of flavors, such as cinnamon, hazelnut, and vanilla, which can create a multi-faceted flavor profile for your mudslide. You can even alter the entire flavor profile by making a strawberry mudslide, which includes Baileys Strawberries & Cream Liqueur and strawberry ice cream. No matter which type of mudslide you choose, be sure to enjoy your beverage while those McDonald's fries are still piping hot to get the full effect.